Social Learning Theory 1

Social Learning Theory: Mini Case Study

Crystal Zavala

ITL 606: Learners and Learning II

January 19, 2019

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Social Learning Theory: Mini Case Study

Psychologist Albert Bandura developed the Social Learning theory, which is a theory that

agrees with behaviorist theories like classical conditioning and operant conditioning but has

additional ideas. Those additions are that assisting processes happen between stimuli and

responses, and also that behavior is learned from a person’s environment through the

development of observational learning (McLeod, 2016). Bandura believes that social interactions

and models influence a person’s learning, motivation, and their self-influence.

Annie is a fifth grade student in Mr. Baer’s class, who has become quiet and bad-tempered

the past few days, especially during Language Arts. When she speaks to her teacher, Mr. Baer,

she tells him, “I can’t do this writing stuff! I am not a good student. Give me P.E. or art over this

stuff any day!” This shows that her bad temper had to do with her negative feelings towards

Language Arts because she considers herself a bad student in that subject.

Annie and the Social Learning Theory

When we see how Annie feels about herself in regards to Language Arts, we can relate her

ideals with Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. Annie feels like a bad student because she does

not fully understand everything being taught in this subject resulting in lower scores which then

justifies her feelings. Since no one likes to feel inadequate or unwise they would rather avoid

what makes them feel that way. This concept also relates to self- efficacy, which is “defined as

people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise

influence over events that affect their lives” (Bandura, 1994). This adds to the belief that Annie

is not actually a bad student but that she truly believes it because society expectation deem her to

be better and since she is not meeting those expectations she is a bad student.
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Another example as to why Annie fells that she cannot do Language Arts is because of the

messages the models around her are giving off. These models can be her peers that are doing

very well in Language Arts and are getting praise for that, unlike her who isn’t doing well and

isn’t getting that praise and maybe not the support needed. Slavin writes about Bandura’s theory

and points out that “human learning is not shaped by its consequences but is more efficiently

learned directly from a model” (Slavin, Pg. 112). This supports my example that Annie is not

being reprimanded for her low scores but her self-efficacy is reprimanding her because she is not

being praised like the models in her class.

To counter Annie’s views of herself, Mr. Baer can use Social Cognitive theory to help

her feel more confident and less discouraged in this topic. The use of positive language from Mr.

Baer’s when addressing an incorrect answer can help students feel less embarrassed for being

wrong. I know when I was a student the reason I never raised my hand or spoke up was out of

fear of being wrong because at that time teachers would bluntly tell you that you were wrong

instead of finding a better way to guide a student’s thought process in the correct direction. For

example when discussing a passage in a book a teacher asks their students their thoughts and to

back up those thoughts with evidence found in the book. For example, if a student shares and is

far from the point the teacher can use critical thinking questions to guide the student closer to

correct interpretations. That same strategy should be used for Annie.

Another strategy to teach Annie to help her not feel like a bad student is self- regulation.

“Self-regulation is the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance with the

demands of the situation” (Pietro, 2018). This can help Annie rely less on her models and more

on herself. This will give her the confidence to push through low scores or lessons she does not
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fully understand. Where she would normally give up, self- regulation would cause her to keep

trying to understand or seek more help through her parents or teachers.

The behavior that Annie is displaying does not strike me as abnormal for her age,

meaning she is a typical girl. Not all students would go to this far of an extreme to feeling as a

bad student and wanting to partake in any other subject besides Language Arts, though. As a fifth

grader, Annie is becoming more self-aware and more aware of her peers. These cause

insecurities in every aspect of her life, even in her education. So self-doubt and fear of failing is

common but as teachers we can aid our students to use that fear as a motivation to strive for

better.

It is appropriate for Mr. Baer to contact Annie’s parents because if he can get their aid to

take his teachings home as well, it would be better for Annie. The important things that Mr. Baer

should share with her parents are the theory of Social Learning and how it relates to Annie and

her behavior. He should also bring up ways to help Annie learn self-regulation and also ways he

is going to change her views of her abilities in Language Arts. Some important questions Mr.

Baer should ask Annie’s parents are if there are other people around Annie that may share the

same beliefs of inability to achieve in certain subjects because that might be why Annie sees

herself in that light. Overall, though, I do not believe that Annie needs other services besides

positive reinforcement from her teachers.

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References

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-Efficacy. Retrieved from

https://web.stanford.edu/~kcarmel/CC_BehavChange_Course/readings/Bandura_Selfeffi

cacy_1994.htm

Mcleod, S. (2016, February 05). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

Pietro, S. (2018, November 08). How Can We Help Kids With Self-Regulation? Retrieved from

https://childmind.org/article/can-help-kids-self-regulation/

Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). NY, NY: Pearson.